


Best summer ever

by StrangeNoise



Series: Reddie Week 2020 [1]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Friendship, Friendship/Love, Pre-Canon, Puppy Love, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie is starting to have feelings for Eddie but he's 10 and doesn't know what they mean, Swimming, The Quarry (IT), They're 10 in this, pre chapter 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26196547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrangeNoise/pseuds/StrangeNoise
Summary: When Richie, Stan and Bill learn that Eddie doesn't know how to swim, they decide to teach him and Richie starts to feel something he can't quite place when his friend holds onto him...Written for Reddie Week 2020 - Prompt: Quarry
Series: Reddie Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902409
Kudos: 22
Collections: Reddie Week 2020





	Best summer ever

„Are you sure this is safe?”, Eddie asked, his fingers digging into Richie’s shoulders so painfully the taller boy almost shoved him away. But he knew it would only make his friend panic, so he kept his mouth shut for once and only nodded his head.   
  
“We’ve been swimming here for years”, he told Eddie with a confident smile, “It’s perfectly safe!”   
  
“H-he’s right”, Bill agreed when Eddie didn’t look convinced, “M-my f-family lived here for a-ages and they all s-swam here.”   
  
Eddie still looked uncertain as he followed Richie deeper into the cold and dark quarry water but he seemed to be trusting his friends’ judgment. Out of the corner of his eye, Richie could see Stan roll his eyes. Out of the four of them, Stan was the least convinced that they could teach Eddie how to swim out here. But that didn’t matter now. They had a job to do, and it would only be done once Eddie was swimming along with them.   
  
  
They were ten years old and it was the first summer their parents had allowed them to go and run off on their own if they wanted to. Richie had no idea, who had convinced Eddie’s mother to let him join the other three and how they had done it, but he thanked them every day. It was way more fun when the four of them were together, and not having to spend all day in someone’s house or backyard or ask a parent to drive one from house to house was an added bonus Richie thoroughly enjoyed. Since the summer holidays had started, he, Stan, Bill, and Eddie had barely spent a day at home. Instead, they had made good use of their new freedom and gone to explore the barrens, the quarry, and the fields behind the other end of the town. Some days were more exciting than others, but Richie never felt bored when he was with his friends.  
  
Then, a heatwave hit Derry, and the boys decided they wanted to spend their days at the quarry now, where they could cool off in the water, and Stan could tell them all about the birds he saw in the trees around them. At first, Eddie had protested. Then he had made up reasons why it would be stupid and boring and terribly unsafe. And after three days of prodding by the other three, he had finally admitted that he couldn’t swim. His father had died too early to be able to teach Eddie, and his mother thought it was too dangerous for her fragile, young boy.   
Once Eddie’s secret was out, the other boys thought long and hard about what they could do. They didn’t want to give up precious time at the quarry in the heat, but they didn’t want Eddie to feel left out either. For an hour or two, they considered asking Bill’s or Richie’s dad to teach Eddie how to swim. But they even if someone agreed to teach Eddie, they would want to inform his mother first, and she would never allow it. So the boys eventually decided to teach Eddie himself. It would be their secret summer mission, and once Eddie could swim, he could tell his mother, and if she complained, well, what was she going to do? Un-teach him?  
  
It took some convincing, but eventually, they got Eddie to agree and today marked their first lesson.  
  
  
“J-just hold on to R-richie. S-Stan and I can s-show you how to m-move your legs”, Bill said once they had moved away from the shore enough. They had decided that Richie would be the one to keep Eddie afloat. He wasn’t that much taller than the other boy, but he was awful at explaining things, so he had gotten that role instead of Bill- and Richie wasn’t complaining. He liked watching Eddie’s face scrunch up in concentration as he tried to hold on, mimic the movements Stan and Bill showed him, and not panic at the same time.  
  
“Stop moving, you’ll drown us both!”, he exclaimed every time his movements forced Richie to take a step back, and fear and anger would mix on his face. It was an adorable expression, Richie thought, and if he wasn’t so sure Eddie would quit his training and sulk for the rest of their lives if he started doing it on purpose to get a reaction, he would have started stumbling about more just to see that look on his friend’s face.   
  
Once Stan and Bill decided Eddie knew how to move his legs, Richie did get to walk backward, however. Eddie held on to his shoulders with a vice-like grip as he tried to remember the movements he was supposed to make with his legs. The way Eddie kicked his legs was nowhere near as fluid as it should be, but Richie couldn’t help but feel pride rise in his chest at the progress his friend made. It would probably take a few more days of training, but then the four of them could all go swimming together, and their secret summer mission would be accomplished.  
  
But first, they decided to take a break when Stan kept complaining that Eddie was kicking him on purpose and returned to the shore, sulking. Richie felt strangely cold when they waded out of the water, and Eddie let go of his shoulders. It had been nice to have his friend hold onto him like that, Richie thought, as he wrapped himself in a towel and sat down next to Bill. And as much as he missed the feeling, the phantom sensation of Eddie’s fingers digging into his shoulders was still there. A strange feeling in the pit of his belly told Richie he never wanted to forget this particular sensation. Richie had felt like this around Eddie a few times now, and he could never say what it meant. For now, he was probably just hungry.

Despite being somewhat annoyed by Eddie’s kicking, Stan shared the sandwiches his mother had made for him with his friends. When Richie glanced over to where Eddie was sitting, he could see the look of pride on the other boy’s face. They had come quite far already, he figured. Eddie had every right to be proud. But into the excitement he felt for his friend, Richie could feel a second emotion emerge, one that, once again, he couldn’t quite place. All he knew was that it told him that he didn’t want Eddie to learn how to swim on his own too fast so he could hold onto Richie’s shoulders a little longer. 

Richie took a thoughtful bite of his sandwich, then rolled his eyes at himself. He was probably just jealous because it had taken him the better part of six months to learn how to swim, and Eddie seemed to be a natural. And just because Eddie knew how to swim, it didn’t mean Richie couldn’t still be around. Smiling as he took another bite of his sandwich, Richie found himself looking forward to swimming side by side with Eddie. They could explore the quarry together, and Stan and Bill would be there too. All four of them would have an amazing summer together, and they would be even better friends than before.   
  
Richie’s smile grew at that thought. This summer had barely started, but already he couldn’t wait to spend every summer of his life with his friends – especially Eddie…

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed this! I just love writing nice childhood things for the Losers because I feel they all deserve it.  
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated and you can always say hi on twitter @NoiseStrangest !


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